#kakala

I'm taking a few months off drawing Passiondaele to draw normal things so I don't lose my ability to.

Rationale

Part of the reasoning behind this project was to introduce modern tools to broaden how Kakala and Talanoa are generally used. This research was in response to studies indicating the high usage of social media platforms among pacific communities (Te Ara n.d.) . This project seeks to involve the discussions and conversations that are already taking place within these platforms. This study looks at overcome the barrier in culturally competent research with Pacific youth/people. This research also seeks to validate academic research through social media (video chat) platforms.

Overview

This project took me just over a semester to accomplish. I interviewed 6 participant (AUT students) over three sessions. The themes of the interview were about health care and health promotion. The three topics that were covered in the interview were: Health services, Barriers to health services and Health care opportunities.

The interviews were conducted over Facebook as this platform was consistently used among the participants and also helped to reinforce the casual tone needed for quality talanoa.

(The interviews had to be constantly rescheduled due it being exam time.)

I screen recorded the video conversations through Quicktime, edited them through Premiere Pro, made and made titles and other elements on after effects and Photoshop.The editing (and unsurprisingly the rendering) took up a majority of the time for this project. This also included uploading the videos on to Youtube.

All the elements of this project were stitched together using the interactive video tool of Kylnt. Kynt housed the the visuals, conceptual and written elements in a concise interactive platform.

This project was pretty labour intensive and at times I had to take shortcuts in terms of qualitative conventions to showcase this project (which is more of a prototype.) I ended up editing around 30 videos. Creating a uniformed interface throughout Klynt without a template option (which meant I had to paste and arrange sequences individually.) Rendering and uploading to YouTube took several days.

Klynt

Adjusting to the workflow of Klynt took time. It is unique interactive video platform which fit perfectly with the concept of my study. The themes of agency, non-hierarchal, engagement can be found in both Klynt and my project.

 Theme 1: Awareness of health promotion

 "Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health." - (VicHealth, n.d.)

 Awareness of health promotion is what promotional material participants are conscious of and recognize.

 Sasa

“First would be through the flyers I seen through the mailbox. Second would be through email, like online. Third one would have to be the TV, advertisement.”

 Ash

“…just at the rec center down the road, Manurewa, there’s a lot of posters for Quitline for smokers, alcohol things like family violence. Basically things that are trying to help people recover from those bad habits.”

 Nadia

“Brochures, I guess sometimes. No I’m not sure about that one.”

 From these excerpt it can be seen that participants in this study are aware of health campaigns from various sources. These examples illustrate various mediums used to promote health promotions visually in print, online or through the media.

  Theme 2: Access to health care services

"Health care services means any medical or remedial care or service, including supplies delivered in connection with the care or service.” - Oregon Law 2013

 Access to health care services refers to the availability of health care services for participants.

 Tim

“Just the doctors at the moment … at least once a month, well it depends if I’m sick or not”

 Nadia

“…probably once year, … pretty irregular, just whenever like I got sick or needed antibiotics or something ”

 Olivia

I’ve heard of the dermatologist, haven’t heard about the others

 Tim

“Nah, I’ve never really heard about them to be honest”

 Audrey

“Dentist, orthodontist…dermatologist for my skin but it”

 Sasa

“I know about the therapist”

 All participants used some form of primary health care service. From these snippets it can be seen that secondary health services go mostly underutilized.

  Theme 3: Access to digital platforms

 Access to digital platforms is the ability to access digital tools such as a computer or mobile device (with video chat capabilities), Internet and Social Media (e.g. Facebook).

 "For students, many of the biggest frustrations often center around having only limited access to university-provided resources. As one student put it, “my biggest frustration is not being able to use all of the programs in each computer center. It is frustrating having to seek out specific classrooms on campus to finish homework because not all the computers on campus have the necessary software.” Similarly, other students cited their inability to access these resources when off campus as a considerable barrier to using digital media in their coursework." - Peiper, 2011

 All participants had access to some sort of digital device (e.g. mobile, laptop). Internet access however was not as accessible as I had anticipated, interview scheduling revolved around participants access to the Internet. This dictated the exchange/talanoa in the interview.

 Among the six participants 3 used laptops, 2 used mobile phones and 1 used both a laptop and a mobile.

 There was a lot of variation in terms of devices participants had and Internet quality. This led to an inconsistency in video quality.

 Theme 4: Health and wellbeing

Health and wellbeing

Health and wellbeing is now more about “preventative measures and wellness rather than disease and treatment”

Health and wellbeing looks at what participants consider health issues, to build how they view the role of health and health services.

 Constraints

 Participant relationships

Relationships with different participants for the study varied from a small network of colleagues to meeting some of them for the first time. The level of comfort with each participant dictated the authenticity and engagement of the talanoa. In order for talanoa to be mo’oni (truthful) and mafana (respectful) it is essential in any given context develop relationships over several time points as opposed to a one off encounter.

 Timing of study

It was well into exam time when this study took place. This effected interview scheduling and participant availability. I also feel that this had an effect on communication in interviews, as at times responses felt short and mental fatigue was apparent with some participants.

 Time constraints

Transmedia according to Jenkins (2011) is storytelling that

“represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story

Weitbrecht (2011) adds to Jenkins’ definition of transmedia by stating that

“True transmedia narratives deliberately use the unique properties of each media platform to help the consumer experience the different parts and perspectives of a story in the most meaningful way possible

While Murray (1998) refers to the rubric of hyperserial to describe the convergence of emerging media. Murray (2012) rejects Jenkins’ rhetoric of transmedia claiming the term is additive. Murray (2012) states that television, video games and websites are not separate and fixed entities. Hyper serial does not look at what a given medium has to offer but rather looks to identify the core human purposes and pleasures of the medium being used.

While all three perspectives on transmedia have something different to add, they can be all connected in how there is a more centralised focus on the audiences’ experience in contrast to traditional methods of storytelling. Transmedia or hyper serial looks to tailor media experience for individual exploration with no set hierarchal bias place on the platforms used to deliver the narrative. The users/audience is placed in charge of their own experience and therefore dictate how much they engage and benefit from a text

Methodology

Parallels can be made between the pacific research approach of talanoa and transmedia. Talanoa (chat, critical discussion) is intrinsic to the way Pasifika people share stories, interact with one another and relate to each other (Vaioleti, 2011).  Talanoa is how knowledge is shared among Pasifika people. In a research context talanoa is used to converse in interviews. Talanoa and transmedia erase the distinction between content creator and audience. Co-creation and participatory themes are present in both concepts. While transmedia empowers the audience as creators Talanoa allows participants to (be more than subjects) and be integral contributors.

Method

Using the platform of FB chat allowed me to connect to participants when and where they more comfortable. This allowed the interviewees to feel more relaxed and engage more in the discussion. This aligns with transmedia not only through the multiple platforms that were used but also through the interactivity of video chat. This enabled real time input and interaction. Every discussion and interactions would eventually end up influencing the outcome of the project.

Outcomes

In the context of my research the concept of transmedia is present in the interactive platform/delivery of my study. By using an interactive video platform the audience can create their own meaning to the study. Discovery is enabled by allowing the audience to create their own journey through the video/interviews.

Murray, J.H. (1998). Building Coherent Plots in Interactive Fiction. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 13(6). Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=735997

Vaioleti, T.M. (2006). Talanoa Research Methodology: A developing position on Pacific research. Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://whanauoraresearch.co.nz/files/formidable/Vaioleti-Talanoa.pdf

Jenkins, H. (2011). Transmedia 202: Further Reflections. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2011/08/defining_transmedia_further_re.html

Part of the reasoning behind this project was to introduce modern tools to broaden how Kakala and Talanoa are generally used. This research was in response to studies indicating the high usage of social media platforms among pacific communities (Te Ara n.d.) . This project seeks to involve the discussions and conversations that are already taking place within these platforms. This study looks at overcome the barrier in culturally competent research with Pacific youth/people. This research also seeks to validate academic research through social media (video chat) platforms.

Characteristics of talanoa

Some of the characteristic to talanoa described by Timote Vaioleti (2011) that align with how social media interaction operate are

Talanoa vave:

Implies quick or  verbal exchanges between two or more people, informal. It usually used with family and friends and between people within the same social strata. When used between people who do not have a particularly close relationship it a more polite way of acknowledgement, a prolonged hello.

In the context of my research this would relate to inviting participants to take part in the study. The language that was used in a FaceBook chat setting was casual and usually in short form. With the participants I was not too familiar with this conversation was more of a a informal greeting and brief sales pitch, the language used in these conversations was also casual and short.

Talanoa faka’eke’eke:

Talanoa faka’eke’eke is verbal searching and questioning. This involves probing to build on responses of the participants. The researcher or seeker of knowledge determines the direction of the talanoa. “Because this talanoa has a more objective aim, it is likely to be dominated by the researcher with less opportunity to truly interact at a more personal level,” which is one of the trade offs in this type of talanoa (p.120).

With my research this was the primary talanoa involved in with the interviewing phase. I found that it was a bit harder to connect on a personal level when interviewing people, but depending on the rapport built and relationship established prior to the interviewing stage helps to elevate the disconnect in a interview setting.

Po talanoa

this  talanoa is ideal for extract mo’oni and malie (honesty and humour.) Similarly to talanoa vave it is casual but conversations are fuller and more trusting. Light food and drink are shared if they are available. “In a contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand situation, it is a relaxed engagement, which often aims to share personal stories, information, some of which are just for pleasure and perhaps just filling time before another engagement” (p.121).

Po talanoa was used when I met some participants to share lunch and further discuss the research. Usually participants would jokingly inquire about the quality of their input. These discussions  felt more relaxed and open (partly because I paid for the meal), this carried over into the following interviews.

Talanoa’i

Talanoa’i is purposeful and has a particular aim. Those involved in the talanoa’i have complementary expertise in the area of interest. Talanoa’i at times can be in the form of a robust debate.